Raptor ID Program presented by Aiken Audubon Society

I felt both awestruck and somewhat queasy one afternoon when a speeding UFR shot through the air right in front of me and took out an LBJ that just couldn't fly fast enough to save itself. In birding parlance, that hunter was an "Unidentified Flying Raptor" and its airborne snack was a "Little Brown Job," the field-journal term for finches, sparrows and similar hard-to-ID species. Identifying Colorado's 18 diurnal raptors — falcons, kites, eagles and other birds of prey that are active during the day — is the focus of tonight's skills-building program, presented by the Aiken Audubon Society. The free class starts at 6:30 at the Colorado Division of Wildlife building (4255 Sinton Road, aikenaudubon.com), where you will no doubt learn ways to spot the American kestrel, which is what my flying assassin turned out to be. — Mary Jo Meade